On Wednesday, Nigeria’s House of Representatives passed the second reading of the Electoral Act 2022 Amendment Bill, enhancing the likelihood of mandating electronic transmission of election results to reduce fraud in the nation’s electoral system.
This bill aims to revisit the contentious issue of electronic result transmission, previously rejected during the last review.
During Wednesday’s session, the House deliberated on the bill’s general principles, approving it for the second reading.
Sponsored by Hon. Francis Waive, representing Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu federal constituency of Delta State, the bill, titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act, 2022 and for Related Matters,’ proposes amendments to select sections of the current Electoral Act.
These changes include voter re-registration, same-day elections, electronic result transmission, and penalties for baseless election petitions.
During the debate, Hon. Waive highlighted deficiencies in the current Electoral Act 2022, emphasizing the need for amendments to facilitate electronic result transmission, asserting that such changes would enhance the nation’s democracy.
He further argued for a decadal review of the voter register, stating, “A review of the voter register every 10 years will be a good starting point.”
The proposed amendments include changes to Section 10, introducing a new subsection (3) mandating the Electoral Commission to conduct a re-registration exercise for eligible voters every 10 years.
Section 28 (1) is amended to synchronize elections for the Office of the President, National Assembly, State Governors, and State House of Assembly on the same day.
Section 47 sees the addition of a new subsection (3), disqualifying voters if the accreditation process specified in subsection (2) fails—no accreditation, no voting.
Additionally, Section 60 (5) is modified, requiring the presiding officer to electronically transmit the results, including the total number of accredited voters and ballot results.
Finally, Section 130 (2) is amended, introducing a new subsection (2), with the previous subsection (2) now becoming subsection 3.
This change imposes a significant fine on individuals presenting frivolous petitions deemed by the court to be baseless and a waste of time.
